The disclosure relates, generally, to ornamental displays, and more particularly, to the display of flags or banners on motor vehicles and elsewhere.
Flags are typically displayed using one of three types of flag pole. A first type of flag pole is moveable, such as a flag pole supported by a weighted base, used during school assemblies. A second type of flag pole is permanently affixed to the ground, such as a conventional flag pole set into concrete outside of a government building. A third type of flag pole is mounted using a bracket, such as may be used to hang a flag from the side of a building.
Attaching a flag to some locations, including motor vehicles, can be desirable but problematic. The display of a national flag attached to a motor vehicle can show the driver's or owner's support, affiliation, or pride. Other flags that drivers seek to display include collegiate and professional sports team flags. Banners displaying custom messages are another type of flag that a driver might wish to exhibit. However, conventional methods of flag and banner display have drawbacks.
For example, although a driver of a motor vehicle desiring to display a flag on his or her motor vehicle may choose to hang a flag in a window (e.g., rear window) of the vehicle, display of a flag in this manner can obstruct the driver's vision. Other vehicle mounts include a fender mount or bumper mount on the rear of a motorcycle, as well as mounts for flags flown from a pole extending out of a “post hole” formed in the rear of a pickup truck bed. However, these arrangements all require driving with a flag pole protruding from the vehicle. Factors such as flag weight, travel speed, and wind and other weather conditions can all contribute to the flag pole breaking, detaching, splintering, deteriorating, or otherwise degrading, resulting in potential personal and property damage.
On “Flag Day,” Jun. 14, 1923, the National Flag Code was adopted by the Army and Navy and about 66 other national organizations, in order to provide unified guidance for the display and other handling of the American flag. On Jun. 22, 1942, Congress passed a joint resolution to enact nationwide laws for use and display of the flag, codified at 36 U.S.C. §§173-178. These laws include 36 U.S. Code §175, entitled “Position and manner of display,” which prohibits, among other things, the display of a flag over the hood, top, sides, or back of a vehicle, and requires, whenever a flag is displayed on a car, the use of a staff that is either fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.
Notwithstanding these national laws, and despite much interest in flag display among vehicle owners and drivers, no significant innovation has taken place to address the foregoing problems associated with displaying a flag on a motor vehicle.